BOSTON, Mass. - Junior attacker Kasey Fries (Bridgewater, Mass.) netted five goals to lead the Simmons College women's lacrosse team in an 18-15 loss to visiting Mount Ida College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest today at Daly Field in Brighton, Mass. The Sharks fall to 5-10 overall and 2-5 in league play, while the Mustangs have won 11 of their last 12 games and improve to 13-2 and 6-1.
Mount Ida was successful on six of 11 free position attempts, while holding Simmons to just three of 10 on free position opportunities. The match was close throughout with the visitors leading by no more than four goals at any point during the match.
Junior attacker Kasey Fries (Bridgewater, Mass.) led the Sharks with five goals and added four ground balls and a draw control, while sophomore midfielder Ana Giarrusso (Hingham, Mass.) registered five points on three goals and two assists in addition to five ground balls, five draw controls and three caused turnovers. Sophomore midfielder Elena Bragg (Belmont, Mass.) scored three times, assisted on a goal, won five draws, picked up four ground balls and caused a turnover. Junior goalie Chyenne Yeager (Indiana, Pa.) recorded a career-high 15 saves for Simmons.
Sophomore midfielder Alyssa Kelly (Lee, Mass.) netted six goals on six shots and added three draw controls, two ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers to her day for Mount Ida, while senior middie Nicole Pavao (Peabody, Mass.) tallied five points on four goals and an assist to go with three draw controls, two ground balls and a caused turnover. Junior midfielder Emily McConnell (Dracut, Mass.) contributed with three goals, three ground balls and a draw control and sophomore midfielder Brooke Scahill (Ledyard, Conn.) chipped in with two goals in addition to four draw controls and a match-high five ground balls and four caused turnovers. First year goalie Jessica Henry (Wilbraham, Mass.) earned the victory after stopping eight of 15 shots she faced in 30:56 of action, while junior Eleanor Garvey (Elkridge, Md.) also made eight saves in 29:04 of play.
McConnell opened the game's scoring with a goal coming at 27:43 for the Mustangs, before the Sharks tallied three straight goals, including a score from Fries to give the home team a 3-1 lead at the 25:48 mark. Mount Ida scored seven of the next eight goals over the next 13-plus minutes, including three from Kelly, to take an 8-4 lead with 12:08 to play in the opening half. Simmons closed out the period with three of four goals, including a pair from Giarrusso, to close to within 9-7 before the intermission.
Sophomores Mallory Cottam Hope, R.I.) and Missie Maiewski (Northampton, Mass.) each found the back of the net to open the second stanza and pull the Sharks even at 9-9 with 23:36 to go in the half.
Mount Ida responded by ripping off four straight scores, including two from Kelly, to take a 13-9 lead at the 15:07 mark of the second half. The teams traded the next 10 goals with five by each squad, before Fries netted the final goal of the match for Simmons with 31.6 seconds left to close to within 18-15.
The Sharks return to action on Wednesday, April 26 when they travel to Northfield, Vt. to take on GNAC foe Norwich University at 7:00 p.m., while the Mustangs host Johnson & Wales University on the same day at 6:00 p.m.